Big Red
by H3artOfS0ul
Summary: So this is a project I had to work on for english class. Hope you guys enjoy
1. Chapter 1

This is the story of a modern day Little Red Riding Hood fighting against the forces of evil. One day a mysterious wolf appears.  
Enemies start to surface, claiming to be hired by one of Red's friends.  
Could one of them be the wolf?  
Will Red stop the wolf in time?  
And is there really only one?  
Meanwhile, Red deals with personal problems that throw his powers out of whack.  
Will Red find love or will everyone he cares about be taken from him?

Chapter 1  
"Don't worry, Matt," I cooed. "You'll make varsity no problem!"  
"Yeah but we have a lot of fast people this year. the team is the biggest it's been since... forever!" he said back, not letting his eyes drift from the road for a second.  
"Yeah but you're faster than you've ever been before. And you've been running my level of intensity. I'm the fucking captain. Calm your tits, you'll be fine!" I sighed in annoyance. Matt Cleric was a good friend, but the poor guy needed confidence.  
He pulled down my street and into my apartment complex. "What about Jeremy and Lloyd and-"  
"Shut the fuck up," I practically shouted. He parked in front of my apartment. I put my hand on his shoulder. "You'll do fine, and I believe you'll make varsity." As he opened his mouth to interupt me, I cut him off. "Or maybe you'll just suck and fail on epic level proportions."  
He smiled at me, shaking his head, knowing I was kidding... sort of. I grinned back at him. I cocked my head to the side and said, "Love you," in a playful voice, starting to get out of his Rav4. Again he shook his head at me. I playfully pouted. "You never say it back." I shut the door and made my way to the back of his toyota to get my stuff.  
I opened the back and Matt called over his shoulder, "I love you too, Peyton." I grinned at him as I grabbed my cruzer board, backpack, sports bag, and my red fedora.  
"Finally you say it," I called back. "Thanks for the ride, see you tomorrow!" I kicked the back closed and walked out of the street. I set my stuff down so I could reorganize it a little before heading up stairs. My cruzer board fell to the ground with a loud clatter, my bags seemed to slam on the ground with a huge thump.  
Was my stuff really that loud?  
No... It's just that quiet... I looked up, my back to the street. No one was outside. With all the little kids living here on a Friday afternoon, it's usually loud as hell. I pricked my ears and could only hear the sound of Matt's Rav4 rolling away. I turned to make sure he was ok and that's when I saw it.  
A big ol' wolf was stalking its way way through the parking lot right at Matt's Toyota. Oh hell no. I flipped my red hat and placed it on my head as I sprinted after the beast. Matt pulled out of the driveway and hit a left. The wolf coached low. I could tell he was about to give chase. I sprung before he could. I landed right on the wolf's shoulder blades and flipped off. I took a fighting stance just in front of the wolf as it angrily got to it feet... paws? Whatever.  
Its big green eyes glared at me.  
It sprinted at me, shackles raised, growling. I leaned back, getting ready to punch the wolf. Before I could, it sprang over me, trying to get to the street. I jumped up and grabbed it by the tail. As I landed on the ground, I pulled on the tail hard and threw the wolf.  
As it landed in front of me, I push kicked it in the side. It rolled back on its paws and barked at me as it pounced once again. I turned my body. The wolf racked its claws along my left bicep. I winced in pain but it wasn't too deep. I kicked out with my right leg as hard as I could. The wolf flew back again. I wasn't going to let this damn thing get anywhere near Matt. I raised my hands, focusing myself, and ready to use my magic but the wolf growled at me.  
"Don't bother!" It roared. It darted left and disappeared. I relaxed and grabbed my hurt arm. I shuffled and grabbed my stuff. As soon as I got inside, I called Robin.  
"Hey, Red. Wassup?"  
"I got attacked." I threw my stuff on the floor in my apartment.  
"Be right there," Robin said before hanging up.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
Robin knocked on the door about five minutes after I called her.  
"It's open!" I called. My good arm was facing the door. As soon as my blonde friend opened the door, her mouth was going a million miles per second. She asked me about what happened, who was around, who might have seen, was I protecting someone, what was it that attacked me, you know the usual questions, but right now my arm hurt. "Robin!" I hollered.  
I turned so she could see what kind of damage I had. She lipped oh my god and rushed over with her medical supplies. She sat on the couch next to me and got to work cleaning the wound. "What happened?" she asked.  
I quickly recounted the events, wincing in pain every once in awhile.  
"And you're sure the wold was after Matt?" Robin asked as she finished bandaging me up.  
"Sure as the sky is blue," I responded.  
"It's gray right now."  
"Shut up." I sighed. "You think it was coincidence or is Matt officially an innocent?"  
Robin bit her lip. "It's hard to say... What's a wolf's usual M.O.?"  
"Lure people away from safety and eat them... but near me isn't exactly 'away from safety.'"  
I thought Robin would chew her lip off. "Maybe it couldn't tell you were there?" she finally offered.  
I shrugged. "It's a possibility-" my thought was cut off by my phone buzzing. I checked it. Text message.  
"Who is it?" Robin asked.  
"Matt," I muttered. "He's changing what time he's picking me up in the morning to go running. Watch, in about two seconds, he's going to change it back." My phone buzzed two seconds later. I read it. "See, told ya!"  
"You two are pretty close, eh?" Robin asked.  
I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."  
"Great,a ll the more reason to figure out- who's texting you now?" Robin yelled as I was answering another text.  
"It's from Evan," I said. "He's trying to mack on Jackie."  
"Jackie Muffet?" RObin asked. "The one who'll sit on any guys-"  
"Tuffet." I cut her off. "She's still a virgin, you know. She seriously hasn't done much with anyone."  
Robin rolled her eyes. "What's Evan want with Jackie?"  
"She's hot. What else?"  
"Where'd they meet?"  
"Evan, his twin Lucas, Brag, and Tien were running with me last week. Their wrestling coach wants them to run more and what better way to do it than with the captain of the cross country team? I got a little ahead of them and waited at a crossroads. Jackie and her crew ran into me and we started chatting. When the wrestlers caught up, Jackie brought her crew with mine. They tagged along to our after breakfast run and Jackie and Evan hit it off pretty nicely.  
"Now Evan wants to tag along to our pre-party get together after I run with Matt." I sighed/ I sent Evan a text saying he could crash so long as he gave me a lift. "So... wolf?"  
"O think we should have a 'wait and see' attitude about the whole thing. No need to get worried yet. Yet."  
"Yet," I sighed.  
"Yet." Robin confirmed in a dark tone.  
"And on that happy note, let's try to get some homework done."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
I hopped out of my shower after a boring run with Matt. We went to Fremont Older, a hardcore open park reserve. I pretty much jumped at everything that rustled in the bushed thinking the wolf would pop out at any moment. Thankfully it didn't and Matt and I went about our business.  
I toweled myself off and checked my phone. I got a text from my friend, Eric Princeton. "Need back up. Meet me at your Mcds," was all it said. I checked the time. I had about an hour or so before Evan would swoop by and get me and if Eric needed me, he needed me. I went into my bedroom and glanced at the clothes I had laid out to wear today. Black jeans with a couple zippers haphazardly placed about, a royal purple shirt with a white fleur-de-lis symbol on the front, a black zip down sweat shirt, and a red beanie. Whatever Eric needed was going to get dirty. And ruin this outfit? No thanks. I grabbed something else out of the closet, a pair of sweats and a t-shirt was pulled at random. To top it off, I snatched a red baseball cap off my hat rack and headed out the door.

"Just a medium mocha frappe, please," I said, handing the McDonalds clerk a couple of dollars. While I waited for my drink to get ready, I turned to Eric "So what's the deal?"  
Eric was a short guy, skin a little darker than I. he wore cornrows in his hair and black baggy jeans and a sweatshirt on his body. To be honest, he looked like a fucking hoodrat, but he does a lot more good in that get up than thousands of people did every day wearing suit. "The plan is to lure him away from his victim."  
I smiled at the nice cashier and my frappe hoping that he didn't hear all of what Eric just said. As we took a seat in the muffle of the McDonalds, I said, "Who's the target?"  
"Eric subtly pointed his thumb at a young man with skin golden from the sun, eyes as blue as the sky, and hair I wanted to run my hands though. This dude was gorgeous. "Incubus," Eric said.  
I swallowed hard. "Cousin to the vampire."  
"They use their looks to lure victims in and then sex them up, feed on the chemicals sex, like... activities? Yeah activates- then steals their soul."  
"Lovely," I said. I turned back to Eric. "How do we lure him away?"  
Eric drummed his fingers on his chin. "Can you freeze him?"  
Ah yes, my special ability. Aside from being really strong, I can sometimes freeze things, on a molecular level, not with ice. The only things that didn't freeze were good soldiers (the magic kind, i.e. Eric and I) and super powerful evil beings. I wondered if the incubus would freeze or is this sucker just too much for me to handle. "Worth a try," I said.  
I centered myself and did my best to relax. I focused all my energy onto the incubus and I flicked my wrist at the evil creature. I felt my power activate, but... the incubus was still moving. Then, to my dread, he frowned and slowly turned his head toward me. I quickly looked away and started sipping my frappe while Eric quickly jumped in the middle of a speech about Chuck Taylor sneakers.  
The incubus excused himself from his "date", holding a cup of soda. When he got near me, he tripped, sending soda right at me. Me, being the jumpy person I as, flicked my hands out and instantly froze the soda, the restaurant, and the people in it, right down to the soda mid splash. The only exceptions were myself, Eric, and of course, the incubus.  
"I knew it!" he hissed before backhanding me into the nearest wall. Eric helped me up, holding his trusty arrowgun.  
"Let's go!" he said. I followed him out the back of the McDonalds but I flicked my wrist, making sure to unfreeze the poor restaurant patrons before leaving.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
I chased the incubus through the street and across the street into my outdoor-styled school. Hooray for California. As the incubus weaved its way in and out of the halls, every once in awhile magical arrows bullets things would strike the walls near the incubus and I knew it was Eric. I kept following the incubus, making him focus on me rather than where Eric would pop out and shoot next by repeatedly catching him and landing a few blows but the damn thing kept squirming away and dashing off.  
I was soon chasing him down the back field of my school. He was almost to the red gate that lead to the maze of a residential neighborhood behind the school. He could easily lose me back there. Just as the incubus was about to leap over the red gate, Eric warped in with a bright flash of purple, upside down no less, pointing his arrow gun at the incubus. Eric fired and the incubus was hit in the chest. He let out a shriek that could raise Lazarus himself. His golden skin turned black, his hair turned to fire, and his limbs twisted in painful, unbelievable ways. Then in a flash of bright light, the incubus was gone, vanquished.  
I realized that Eric had warped away. He;s a soldier of arrows and his special ability allowed him to warp short distances as quick as a bullet. As a byproduct, he had some control over physics and spatial something-or-other, so he often screwed with people by appearing upside down or sideways.  
Physical powers were so simple.  
Lucky bastards.  
Thanks to my ability, I noticed Eric before he announced himself. He tried to appear just behind me, but I turned and faced him before he even finished materializing. He was holding my cruzer board in one hand and his own longboard in the other.  
"That is so cool how you can just do that." Eric said in awe.  
"No it sucks," I said, a lot more bitter than I meant it.  
"Why? Reading people and thier feelings has got to be cool! You get so close with people so quickly!"  
"That's where it sucks."  
"Why?"  
"Because it hurts, ok?" I shouted. "When was the last time someone in my family or close circle of friend, i.e., you, came down to see one of my races, here my preform, or anything else other than fight the things that go bump in the night?" Eric was speechless. I didn't feel like doing this right now. "Come on," I handed him one of my radio receivers and earphones. I set my own iTouch to to broadcast what I was listening to using on of those radio thingies. Eric smiled as I played some Tech N9ne. We rode our boards to my place, loudly singing along.  
Part way back, I changed to my Jay-Z playlist. We were a couple blocks away when our favorite song. Niggas in Paris! I sang along very loudly and danced on my board as I got closer to home. I rode along the sidewalk that lead to my apartment when Kanye's part was almost over, getting to the funny part. I saw Evan leaning against a fence near my apartment. I made a big show of jamming on top of my board as I approached him, dancing and singing at the top of my lungs. I looked behind me and Eric was smiling and dancing too. When I turned back to Evan (who was getting closer and closer) I noticed Tien standing next to him. No biggie. Two cute guys. I get to hang out with them for the day. No need to get nervous-  
Oh fuck Lucas is here I thought.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
I suddenly felt ugly in my sweats. I stumbled over the lyrics to the song. I was barely aware of the fact that I was still riding my cruiser board right at them. I snapped myself out of it and kept singing along. "Fuck that shit, she don't want to dance/ excuse my french but I'm in France/ Ha I'm just sayin'!" I hockey stopped on my board right in front of the trio. I smiled at them and nodded as I heard Eric stop next to me. I kept singing along but in a quieter voice. "Prince William's ain't do it right if you ask me/ 'Cause if I could I would married Kate and Ashley."  
I turned to Eric as our favorite part came.  
"Was gucci my nigga?/ Was Louie my killer? Was drugs my dealer?/ What's that jacket, Margiela?/ Doctors say I'm the illest Cause I'm suffering from realness/ Got my niggas in Paris/ And they going gorillas, huh!"  
"I don't even know what that means!" Eric said, exasperated.  
"No one know what it means," I said. "But it's provocative."  
"No it's not! It's gross!"  
"It gets the people going!"  
We both laughed and high fived.  
"I never get tired of that," I smiled. "OH, Eric!" I gestured to my friends. "This is Evan and Lucas Mathers and Tien Yamcha. Guys, this is Eric. Everyone say hi to everyone else."  
After everyone said their hellos, Eric asked them. "You guys going to the party, right?"  
"Yeah," Evan said. "Are you?"  
Eric shrugged. "Not sure. I have to get back home and do some stuff. And it'll take me awhile to get home by bus."  
"You have your license, right?" I asked, already reaching into my pocket. "Here, Kelly left her camero here while she's in Japan. Twenty-twelve model. You break it, we take turns destroying you. It's parked around the corner."  
"Why don't you drive it?" Eric asked. "I know you don't have your license but..."  
"Don't drive stick," I said. i smiled wryly as I said, "But I do take the 4 Runner out for a spin every once in awhile."  
"Oh, we got a badass over here!" Evan shouted, holding his hand up.  
I rolled my eyes, smiling ear to ear. "I'll see you later, Eric."  
"Later, Big Red." Eric waved to my friends and left to joyride Kelly's camero.  
"Let me change out of these clothes and we can go." I rushed upstairs and went into my room, immediately stripping off my horrid sweats. I began rethinking my outfit but I didn't have time to switch it. I attached two sai to each leg before slipping my jeans on I slid a large hunting hunting knife in a hidden pocket right below my tailbone along with my house keys in my back pocket. I put my purple shirt and my red beanie on, then I got my jacket, which was loaded with more knives, along with my other keys, my iTouch, wallet and other things. I didn't need to wear it as of now so I threw it over my shoulder as I left out of my apartment. I walked down my stairs, trying to project how nervous I was. I Lucas spoke as I came down.  
"What's the occasion?" he asked. I raised an eyebrow at him. "You're wearing jeans."  
I flinched slightly at his knowledge of my little idiosyncrasy, but I smiled too. I hated jeans and only wore them to parties or hanging out with friends I wanted to look good around. Even at school, my ensemble was usually a nice pair of basketball shorts and, of course, a red hat. "Just felt like looking nice at the party. Come on, we're going to be late."  
"Shotgun," Tien called as we made our way to Evan's Toyota Corolla.  
"Shouldn't Red get shotgun?" Lucas asked. "I mean, he is the tallest one here."  
I was surprised by Lucas' concern but I realized something. "Nah, it's ok." I shrugged. If Evan was driving and Tien had shotgun/ I had the backseat with Lucas. "Tien called it, he can have it."  
We piled in and Tien pulled the seat up so I could have some room..  
"So which way?" Evan asked.  
"Two-eighty south, then eight-eighty west," I said. Evan pulled out and peeled off. I prefered him driving rather than Lucas. Evan was a lot more careful and didn't change gears like a maniac. Lucas on the other hand will speed up the side of a mountain on a curvy street.  
With one hand on the steering wheel.  
And on that dangerous note, my phone decided to ring. "Hey, Jackie," I answered in a chipper tone. I noticed Evan striffen a tad.  
"Hey, Red," she sing-songed. "You still need a ride?"  
"No it's fine."  
"Public transit?"  
"No, you'll see."  
"I'll see what?" she asked suspiciously.  
I smiled from ear to ear because she thought I was up to something (which I usually was) and by the fact that I could see Evan glancing at me in his rearview mirror on our way to the freeway. "You know me, always up to something."  
Jackie sighed. "Ok whatever. I trust you."  
I laughed. "Really? I wouldn't!"  
"Well, yeah I probably shouldn't, but I do." She paused. "Which is why I wanted your opinion on Hal."  
I scoffed. "I can't stand him. You need to drop him. He's not worth it."  
Jackie sighed again. "I guess so but..."  
"But nothing. I can think of five great guys for you just off the top of my head."  
"Really? Like who?"  
I opened my mouth to speak, but then I saw Evan looking at me in his rearview. "You'll see," I said instead, winking at Evan. "Anyway, I'll talk to you soon.:  
"Bye."  
"Late." I hung up. Almost immediately I got I call from jenna. "Yo," I answered.  
"Stop playing with Jackie's feelings," she commanded.  
"Whoa, right down to the nitty gritty, eh?" I sighed. "Well as it turns out I actually do know a great guy for her. And if he;s not, I'm kicking him directly in his dick." That warning to Evan earned me one of his cocky grins. Both Tien and Lucas were quietly snickering.  
"Who is he?" Jenna asked.  
"Friend of mine from PHS."  
"Stats?"  
"Soccer player, wrestler, honors and AP student, funny, intelligent, crazy, loud, and completely ruthless when it comes to poking a little fun at people's expense so he and Jackie will make a great duo when it comes to that."  
"Ok well... if you say so."  
"And I do. Well I'm riding with three other people and I'd rather talk to them than waste battery on talking to someone I'll be seeing soon. So yea... Love you! Bye!:  
"Bye."  
"So who was that?" Evan asked.  
"A friend of mine, Jenna," I answered. "She's... protective of Jackie. She just wanted to know a little about you. Jackie has been hurt before."  
"How so?"  
"Well she's known as being promiscuous- even though she totally isn't. Still has her virginity and everything. She just... like to suck-well..."  
"She likes to give BJs?" Tien guessed. I rolled my eyes but nodded. I studied Evan's face expecting to see disgust or something. Most guys aren't into girls who've gotten around, even if it's not the heavy stuff. But he was smiling.  
"That's cool," he said, turning onto eight-eighty. Wow, that was quick.  
"I swear, if you're into this just for sexual stuff, I will punch you. Directly. In. The. Dick." Evan just smiled with that cocky air. Then I raised an eyebrow and said, "If I can find the target."  
That got one of those "OHH!"s from Tien and Lucas.  
"Apply cold water to burn!: Tien said laughing.  
"Hey, you're half asian! You're probably small as hell!" Evan shot back.  
"You would know. You two spend your spare time groping on each other," I said.  
That got a laugh out of Lucas. He wasn't a wrestler even though he worked out with them. I had to get Lucas as well. "You're Evan's twin. Fraternal or otherwise, you two still have the same genes. You can't be too much bigger."  
Lucas just smiled and looked away, with his cute little over bite. Oh yea, the rest of the day is going to be very interesting I thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
When we got close to the Great Mall, Jackie texted me asking what we wanted from Panda. I gave her our orders as we pulled into the parking lot. When we got to the great mall, I had Evan park next to a red SUV. "It's Jenna's," I explained, getting out of the Mathers' car.  
While walking toward the Sears entrance, I texted Jackie asking where she and Jenna were. I got the response just as we walked into the food court. As soon as she saw me, Jackie ran up and gave me a hug. I looked her up and down when she released me and she did the same.  
"Always with those damned heeled boots," I said.  
"And you're wearing jeans," she commented. Then she looked up and saw my friends. I gestured to each of them as I said they're names. "You remember Tien and Lucas and I;m sure you remember Evan."  
Jackie held back a fierce blush on her light brown skin. "Of course," she said. "Come on Panda's getting cold."  
I immediately took the seat next to Jenna and introduced her as Jackie sat next to me. Evan took the spot next to her. Funny how that worked out. Lucas and Tien took the other two seats around us.  
"So what's the plan for the rest of the day?" Jenna asked between bites.  
"Yeah, the party doesn't start until sixish," Jackie said. "What do you want to do until then?"  
"I think we should just hit up the movie when we're done walking around here. There's a theater not too far from here. After that, hit up the party. It's a little over an hour's way north so that'll kill time too." I shrugged. The others nodded like it was a good idea.  
"What about the party?" Jenna asked.  
"Oh yea," Jackie grimaced. "That's going to get janky real quick.:  
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah... it is. We'll get a couple hours of party in before we have to bounce."  
"Why so soon?" Lucas asked.  
"Red here keeps getting into fights with one of the dudes who's going to be there," Jenna explained in annoyance. "But of course we have to go to see people we haven't seen in awhile. We promised. So most of the party will be a countdown before those two tussle."  
My PHS friends looked at me strangely. "It's not as bad as you think," I assured them.  
"You kick him off a roof!" Jenna yelled.  
"After he threw me into a wall," I countered.  
"After you broke a desk over his back!" Jackie reminded me.  
"After he broke a chair against my chest," I shot back.  
"After you kicked him in the face."  
"After he threw a dart at my ear!" I glanced at Lucas, Evan, and Tien and to my surprise, they were laughing. I sighed. "Anyway, when shit gets janky, we'll bounce. Cool?"  
"Cool," they all said.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
So here's a little fast forwarding for you. The mall was boring. The Great Mall isn't so great after a few times, so we left that place pretty quickly. But it did open the door for conversation. Jackie explained that she and I have been friends since middle school and we both moved to this area, even though she technically lived in Cupertino.  
I gave Jenna directions to the movie theater and hopped back in the car with Evan and the others while Jenna rolled off in her SUV, Jackie in tow. We were extremely early to the movie so we just hung out in the lobby to wait it out. Evan and Jackie we hitting it off nicely. They sat by themselves on a bench, giggling like crazy. Jenna was busy trying to get a little something something from Tien. I was leaning against the wall enjoying my handy work and the fact that this was a nice Saturday where I was out of the house just enjoying the day. That's when Lucas decided to join me on my wall.  
"So you really kicked a guy off a roof?" he asked.  
"Relex, it was only two stories up. And at least I made sure he went off the side with a pool. When he threw me through a wall, he didn't make sure there wasn't a support beam or something there."  
"Was there?"  
I shook my head. "But he didn't know that." I waggled my finger at Lucas for emphasis.  
"And you broke a desk over his head-"  
"Back. Not head, back," I corrected.  
Lucas laughed. It was a quiet laugh. Nice and gentle. I liked it. It was rare though. "Across his back," he corrected, "because he broke a chair against you?" I nodded. "How did that even start?"  
I shrugged. "Any number of reasons to be honest, I forgot. I just remember the dart."  
Lucas laughed again and I nearly melted. "Remind me not to piss you off!"  
"I thought you already knew that. Especially after the jumpy house thing?"  
Lucas pressed his lips together and tried to hide a smile. I'm guessing he was remember the block party a few weeks ago where we were all in a jumpy house wrestling around and, according to Tien, I "brutalized" poor Lucas. A moment later, Lucas opened his mouth to speak when Jackie interrupted him.  
"Time for the movie!"

Fuck Will Ferrell. Fuck Zach Galifianakis. Fuck the Campaign. It sucked and there was nothing funny about it. I fell asleep about halfway through even though almost everyone else in the theater was laughing their ass off. I woke up near the end leaned up against something very comfortable. I looked up and realized I was leaning against Lucas and I was so glad I was black. No blushing for me.  
"I'm so sorry," I said.  
He shrugged like it happened all the time. I looked down the aisle and noticed that Jackie had fallen asleep against Evan. But unlike me, it looked like she had done it on purpose. Evan's arm was around her and she was cuddled up nice against his chest. How cute I thought.  
Jenna was wide awake but I can see that she was engaged in conversation with Tien. And by conversation I do mean flirting. I doubted she even knew the movie was almost over. I tapped Lucas on the arm and pointed at our friends. He smiled at them and nodded.  
I leaned in close to him and whispered, "They look good together."  
"They have you to thank for that," Lucas said.  
I smiled at him and suppressed a yawn.  
The movie finally let out and we rode up to the party. Jenna knew where she was going so I was able to fall asleep in the car on the way.  
I kind of wish the day stopped there and we returned home.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
The party was pretty amazing. The sound system was booming, the food and drinks was amazing. Everything was just plain amazing. But I guess that's what you get when you party with a soldier of Dionysis.  
Eric was already there but he was swept into the backroom by some really hot chick.  
About two hours into the party, when I was sitting around a giant couch with my friends, laughing like a maniac, I felt it. A sudden shock went through me. I glanced up and saw Xander's eyes locked on me. Jackie and jenna both glanced up and saw him too.  
Jackie sighed and shouted over the music, "Well he's here. Let's get a couple more dances in before we have to go!" She grabbed Evan's hand and dragged him to the dance floor as Jenna did the same with Tien. I followed along and Lucas did the same. Jackie grinded on Evan like it was the last time she'd be able to. It took awhile for Tien to get comfortable but he was grinding with Jenna like a pro. Lucas and I just danced next to each other. He was kind of stiff but danced pretty well for a white boy.  
We got through about two songs before my little group was suddenly surrounded. I couldn't be sure, but these guys seemed demonic. They were all wearing black sweat shirts with a gold lily across their breast area. The mark of Xander. I stopped dancing and stood straight up. Jackie and Jenna did the same. The tallest one looked at me and through the music, I heard him say, "Xander would like to speak to you."  
I nodded at him and then smiled at Lucas, Evan, and Tien. "Be right back!" I shouted at them like it was no big deal. I turned on my heels and walked down one of the halls. As we walked down the hall, the sounds of the party were swallowed up. "Enchanted hallway?" I asked. One of our escorts nodded. "Eric," I called. Two seconds later, Eric flashed in next to me and fell in step. He glanced around and noticed that there were two guards in front and three behind us. Jackie and Jenna stood side by side behind me.

So here's a little more explanation of who we are. We are soldiers who defend the world from evil. You know those stories your parents read to you at night? Remember all those ancient lores they tried to teach you in school? Well those weren't just stories. Most of them were warnings of the evils that walked this world and it was our job to stop them.

Jackie's a soldier of fire while Jenna's a soldier of the sun which is kind of ironic considering they were both vampires. Well not vampires, but dhampirs, humans (or in their case, soldiers) with vampire DNA. Think of Blade for the Blade Trinity or Rose from Vampire Academy. Being part vamp gave them a lot of cool abilities. Great hearing and night vision was one of them. They also looked really freaking hot.

Jackie stood at about five-nine with boobs a little smaller than her head, hips that could make Shakira lie, and tight thighs you could bounce a quarter off of, especially in those jeans. She always wore her hair long and tied it in a ponytail when she was expecting a fight (which she was tying now). Jenna was about my height, six-two, with hair that came down to her shoulders. She was skinnier than Jackie, but just as beautiful. She was mostly leg because of her body type and she knew how to show it off. Her heels made her ass a commodity Beyonce would want.

We got to the end of the hall entered a giant oval room that seemed to be modeled after feudal Japan. Our escorts stood around the room in parade rest position to join their pals. There were thirteen in all. On the other side of the wall, behind an expensive looking desk, sat Xander.

"Hello, Peyton," he practically spit my name, but still had a fake ass smile on his face.

I nodded at him, stone faced.

"Glad to see you here... sort of. Think we can get through a conversation with trying to beat each other into a pulp?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why did you call us in here, Xander?"

The creep actually smiled. With his pasty skin, slicked back hair, and thin lips, he reminded me of a greasy little rat. Which is exactly what he was. "I was just wondering what you've done with your life thus far."

"Riding the world of evil while promoting good. Which is supposed to be your job too, but you're using... less than pleasurable company."

Xander pressed his fingertips together in front of his face. "Oh I don't know. They get the job done."

"And what job will that be?"  
Xander's smiled even wider, exposing teeth as yellow as the sun. "Stealing magical artifacts. Collecting power. Becoming stronger than you ever will!"  
I narrowed my eyes at him. "What kind of artifacts?"  
"All kinds! Just last month I stole the Magister's Blade-"  
"That was you?" I asked. Please fall for it I thought.  
"Yes! All me!"  
"All you? No help? Solo job?" Please fall for this.  
"YES! ALL ME!" Xander roared with happiness. Disgusting.  
"The man who was guarding the Magister's Blade was killed in the robbery. He was a friend of mine." Xander's eyes narrowed at me. "Since you were the only one involved I'm guessing you did it. You officially crossed the line you cannot return from." Xander's eyes went wide in fear. He figured it out. I couldn't kill him, no matter how bad he was. But he wasn't bad anymore. He was straight up evil. He used his power for many selfish deeds and in that selfishness he killed a friend of mine in cold blood. He had no soul. He was a demon.  
And it was time for him to be slain.  
I flicked my wrist and two throwing knives shot out and impaled the two demons on either of his sides and they instantly burst to flames. I threw two more and killed two more demons before jumping over the desk to get at Xander as I heard the sounds of my comrades jumping in the fray with the other demons. Xander jumped back out of his chair and hit a button on the wall.  
The wall moved like this was fucking Scooby Doo and Xander was gone.  
"Jenna!" I called. Then I ducked. The wall Xander Doo went through exploded in an inferno revealing a back exit. "Thank you!" I called as I pulled my sai out from under my jeans.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
Xander ran away from Red as fast as he could. He hoped the darkness would cover him long enough to get away. How could I be so stupid? He mentally berated himself. I should've known he was asking about the murders! I should've known he was checking to see if I crossed the line.  
Xander suddenly felt a sharp blade wizz past his head.  
"The next one won't miss," Red's voice rang out.  
Xander turned and in a swift motion, let a bolt of electricity slip from his fingers. The dark hallway was illuminated. The bolt was going right for Red's chest. Red barely flicked his wrist and the bolt stopped, frozen in place on a molecular level.  
Red stepped around the electricity and strode toward Xander, a sai being held back hand in either hand. Xander threw a ball of electricity this time. Again Red just waved his hand nonchalantly and the ball froze. But this time he deviated it with his sai, sending it right back.  
Xander got winged in the shoulder. Hitting the ground with a loud thump. He didn't stay down long. He began to scramble across the floor like a pathetic dog before righting himself and sprinting off. he made a right turn and found a weapons room. Xander couldn't go hand-to-sai with Red, but he could go sai-to-sword no problem.  
When Red walked into the room, he instantly side stepped the downward falling blade. Xander brought the blade back up and swung it at Red's waist. Red paired it with his sai easily. Xander swung his sword without much of a plan other than to keep Red as far away as possible until he could figure something out. Then red made a mistake. He opened himself up way too much.  
Xander jabbed inward as hard as he could but Red was faster. He used his blade and hilt guard to catch Xander's sword. With a twist of his sai, Red had successfully disarmed Xander and kicked him as hard as the powerful soldier could. Xander went flying out of a window and down a story landing on his back.  
Xander got up and sprinted as far as he could, tapping into his new found powers. He was about a mile away when he finally stopped. He stood in an alley way trying to catch his breath but he had to keep moving. As he walked down the alley, Xander noticed something falling from the sky. he held his hand out and caught a black rose. Xander was so distracted by Red's symbol falling from the sky that he didn't notice the sai snake out from behind him and impale him in the chest.  
Or the second one that slit his throat.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
Upside about demons, they clean themselves up. Their bodies instantly are engulfed by hellfire when they go so all I had to do is go back to the party. When I arrived, Jenna and Jackie were already ushering my PHS friends out.  
"Eric got the camero?" I asked. Jenna nodded. "Let's bounce." I said wiping a little sweat from my brow.

Evan and Tien were passed out in the backseat, which left Lucas driving and me barely staying awake in the front seat.  
"So how bad did it go with you and Xander?" Lucas asked.  
I yawned. "I beat him to a pulp easy."  
"How did it start?"  
"I found out he jumped one of my friends a while ago so... I handled him."  
Lucas glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "How bad?"  
"Not too bad," I lied. God I was so sick of these half-truths and lies. But it needed to happen. I quickly changed the subject and we started talking about school stuff, club stuff, and well... stuff. It was nice. Too bad Lucas was straight. I would be all over him in a second.  
"I didn't know you were in ROTC," Lucas said when I got close.  
"Yeah, I just started this year. I've been wanting to do it for a while though. Just not enough room."  
"Is it fun?"  
"Like you won't believe! The marine corps ball is coming up and that's going to be so fun! Dancing! Mosh pits! Crazy shit! I went as someone's guest last year and had a great time. This year is going to be just as awesome! Except..."  
"Except what?" Lucas asked, glancing at me for a second. "Don't have a date?"  
"Nope," I sighed.  
"I'll go with you," Lucas suddenly blurted out.  
I nearly fell out of the car right then and there. "Wh-what?" I stammered.  
Lucas shrugged. "Yeah it sounds like a lot of fun. I'll go with you to keep you company and stuff. If that's alright?"  
Jesus tap dancing Christ on a pogo stick! I thought. This caught me completely off guard. If he wasn't driving right now, I would've frozen him to buy myself some time. But I couldn't. "Sure!" I finally managed. Then I realized how he worded his proposal. keep you company... I knew it. It wasn't a real date. But still.  
"What day is it?" Lucas asked.  
"In two weeks, Friday," I said.  
"OK perfect. I'll finish my homework early or put it off, either or. Do you have cross country that day?"  
"Nope."  
"Ok well we can hang out or something before we go."  
"Well... yea I think we can swing that, but Matt needs me to help him with his chores, so pick me up around 6ish?"  
"Ok sounds good. What do you want to do?"  
"I have no idea! Um... grab something to eat before the ball?"  
"Sure. Pizza good?"  
"Pizza great," I said. "I mean pizza is great."  
Lucas smiled as he pulled off the freeway.  
When we got got close to my place, I got a weird feeling. It was the same one I had when that green eyed wolf appeared to kill Jason. I had a feeling in my gut I should go by there. "Hey, can you drop me off near Payne? I forgot I need to-" pick a lie, any lie, "-check on my friend's dog. He's out of town for the weekend and I doubt Michelle fed the dog properly." Great save I thought.  
"No prob. You sure you just want me to drop you off?"  
"Yea it's no problem, he doesn't live too far from me, I'll walk back." I said. "Left here... Ok right here. Thanks. I'll see you later." I gave him a large smile.  
"Yup," Lucas said giving me one of his small grins. I slid out of his car, not knowing what else to do and waved. He waved back and drove off. As soon I was sure he was gone I sprinted down the street opening myself up so I could sense every living thing around me. I could sense evil around me but couldn't get a pinpoint on it.  
I stopped in front of the Cleric's home. It was a moderate sized two story home with lots of windows. All the lights were on and I briefly worried about being spotted. That could have all sorts of problems ranging from exposure of the magical world to getting stamped with "stalker status."  
I pondered which would be worse when a chill suddenly went up my spine. In my peripheral, I saw a figure jump over the fence just to my right into the Cleric's backyard. I followed without much thought. Honestly, anyone could be back there and with a wolf, that could be dangerous. When I landed in the backyard I walked around the edges, staying as hidden in the shadows as possible. Then I saw the wolf.  
It was stalking it's way toward the back door of the Cleric's home. I tried reaching into my jacket pocket for a throwing knife but I ended up grabbing air. Crap I left it in Lucas' car! I thought. Going to have to go in close quarters. I pulled my sai out of pant legs and slowly walked forward. Then I made a mistake: I stepped on a twig.  
The second that crack rang out through the backyard the wolf snapped it's head at me and growled. "You're not supposed to be here," the green eyed bastard said. Then he dashed right and disappeared.  
"Well, fuck," I said to no one. I put my sai away and left the Cleric's backyard.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
When I got home, I took a shower and just hopped into bed without even putting a pair of boxers on. Tomorrow was Sunday, the day of rest. And yet I still had work at eight in the morning... Which meant I had to wake up in five hours to make the bus on time. I needed to sleep. So why couldn't I?  
Because Lucas had to throw me though an entire loop, that's why. I mean seriously, why the hell did a straight guy ask me out? Did he even know I liked the sausage? I know a good handful of people in my grade knew but honestly, not that many people did.  
Lucas makes me feel so nervous all the time. He's a cute guy and so nice. Like the most legit guy I've met at PHS thus far. So of course he makes butterflies have a fucking rugby match against hornets in my stomach! The fact that I didn't insert my foot in my mouth today was amazing!  
With all my frantic thoughts, I eventually just fell into a dreamless sleep and woke up before I my alarm could go off. I got up and slowly started getting ready before texting Eric, Jackie, Robin, and Jenna telling them about the night before.  
I filled them in on everything that happened and told them Matt's an official innocent. Eric agreed that he'd take weekend shifts and after school sense he could just pop in. Jenna and Jackie would be on standby as long as possible. Robin said she'd help too if needed.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
"Hey, Matt! How's it going, Tina?" I greeted the Clerics.  
"Mondays suck!" Tina groaned. Ah, Tina. Matt's little sister was always entertaining with her constant complaining. I better be careful. Someone could slip and fall over the sarcasm dripping from my voice.  
She, of course, had to take the front seat, so I slid in the back and relaxed on our way to school. But then I noticed something. "Wassup, Matt?"  
"Hey," he muttered as he pulled off.  
I raised an eyebrow. "You ok?"  
Matt shrugged his shoulders as he pulled into the main street.  
"Music?" I asked.  
Matt hit a button on his steering wheel and the car was filled with the sounds of Ice Cube warning people to check themselves before they wreck themselves. The ride to school was unusually quiet other than the sounds of the mixtape I made Matt.  
When Matt parked in the PHS parking lot, Tina hopped out and strode away, not evening saying bye to us. I got out and waited for Matt and I finally got a good look at him. His head was hung low, he wore an unusually long face, his shoulders were slumped, and his usually bright hazel eyes were a sad and dull blue. "Ok, dude, what's wrong?" I asked.  
He glanced up and me and shook his head. "The bell's about to ring. Let's go."  
As we walked toward the depressing stone building that slowly sucked away our social lives, I put my arm around Matt. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"  
"I know," he muttered.  
"So if whatever's going on with you right now... you'll tell me before it gets too bad?"  
"Ok," he said.  
"Promise?"  
"Promise."  
"Pinky promise?" I held my free pinky.  
He took it with one of his pinkies.  
"If you break this pinky promise, I break your pinky. Promise." I gave him one of my cheerful "I will destroy you" smiles as I released his pinky. This actually got a smile on his face and a little bit of the usual brightness returned to his eyes.  
"I know you will."  
"Smart child," I laughed. "Love you!"  
That's when his eyes changed. Something about them just got a little sadder, but he still smiled. "Love you too." I took my arm from around him and waved as the warning bell rang. I had to get across campus so I had to leave Matt. Of course I would never actually leave him, but you know what I mean.I got halfway to my english class when I heard someone call my name. I froze in place and looked around.  
"Hey!" Lucas called. My head snapped to the left. "Here's your jacket," he said, tossing it to me.  
"Thanks," I smiled. He grinned back at me. I waved and began to run again. I didn't know why. my english teacher didn't really care if you're one of her good students, but better not push it either way.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
Mondays suck. It's a proven fact. Ask Garfield. However, Wednesdays were pretty awesome. The weeks half over and you're that much closer to Friday (party and party and YEA!). I walked around like I usually did during lunch, talking to people, hugging them, and eating the food in my sports bag, trying to load up for cross country.  
When I got around the science wing, Lucas came up and fell in step with me. "Hey," he said grinning.  
I nodded back at him, mouth full of strawberries.  
"So what's the deal with the Marine Corps. Ball? Is there some sort of thing I have to sign to get me in?"  
I shook my head as I swallowed the strawberries. "Nah, I just pay for your ticket at the door."  
"What should I wear?"  
I shrugged. "A nice pair of jeans and a collared shirt? Dress like you would at a party. It's no, like, big thing."  
"What will you be wearing?"  
I thought about it for a moment. "Probably my utility uniform." Lucas gave me a questioning look. "The camouflage uniform." Lucas nodded. "It doesn't get too hot comfortable for dancing."  
Lucas nodded slowly, deep in thought. "Cool," he finally said. "We're still hanging out before the dance?"  
"Yeah! Totally! But I can't wear the utilities before the dance, so I'll have to change out of my civilian gear before we get there."  
"Cool," he said again. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, one of which was who put him up to this. It just seemed easier to accept the fact that I'm being set up by some other force just to knock me down at a later date. It just seemed impossible that one of the Mathers twins was asking me out. It's not that they're homophobic or anything, they're not hateful bigots. But they were straight. This was confusing. Or was it?  
Could Lucas be a switch hitter? Ugh I thought Too many thoughts... Thankfully the bell rang saving me from any other conversation with Lucas. Except he added one more thing, "What are you doing after school?"  
"Going home and showering all the stank off me from the cross country workout." Once again Lucas gave me one of his grins. He doesn't usually laugh. He just smiles and grins and chuckles. I only got him to really laugh a couple of times.  
"Well I'm free after school if you want to hang out."  
My natural instincts to joke around overpowered any nervousness I might have had from that invitation. "Oh my GOD! The great Lucas Mathers has spare time hand he's going to waste on this poor mortal? Oh praise the day!" I mockingly bowed low to Lucas and that finally got a full laugh.  
"Yes, I occasionally have free time," he said between chuckles. "And it's not a waste with you."  
"And he compliments me too!" I did another mock bow.  
"That's what I mean!" He chuckled. "You're pretty funny, dude."  
"Thanks..." I thought for a moment. "I'm not sure if I can hang out though... So you might want to find some more worthy soul to spend your free time with."  
Lucas nodded. "Well, I'll be around. Text me if you want to hang out." I told him I would and we parted ways. Before the next period started, I noticed that I hadn't seen Matt all day. Nor did I see him at practice later on that day. After working up one hell of a sweat, I began to seriously worry. Not just because Matt was my ride home but because... he might be in trouble, he might need me. I called Eric.  
"Calm your tits, he's fine," Eric answered his phone.  
"Where is he?" I asked.  
"Home. Sitting at his desk, doing homework and listening to music."  
I ran my hand through my hair. "Can you... maybe pop in and check what song he's listening to? And you know, make your presence known to anyone who might be watching."  
Eric sighed. "Hold on." There was a long pause. The background noise suddenly changed. I held my breath knowing Eric was inside the Cleric's home and they didn't even know him. The background noise changed once again as Eric spoke. "Adam Lambert. Can I go back to what I was doing?"  
"Playing pokemon?" I asked.  
"You know it!" Eric bellowed as he hung up. I sighed as I put my phone away. I took off my sweaty shirt, wiped my body off, and threw my shirt in my rank assed sports bag and got my other jean shorts out as I stripped off my workout shorts. As I put my jean shorts on I heard a voice that almost made me jump.  
"So, how you getting home?"  
I spun on my heels to face, you guess it, Lucas.  
"Well... Can you give me a ride?" I asked sheepishly.  
"Of course, dude!" Lucas' eyes wandered down for a brief moment and said, "Wow dude. Cross country gives you abs for days!"  
I smiled sheepishly again under Lucas' stare. Actually it's from about five years of fighting evil creatures and soldiers who have crossed I thought but instead said, "Now don't'cha wish you had done cross country?"  
Lucas just shook his head. "Do you want a ride or not?"  
"Yes, please!" I said, throwing on a shirt and a red fedora. I picked my crap up and followed Lucas to his car.  
"Throw your stuff in the trunk," Lucas said as he popped it open.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14  
We got about halfway to my home before Lucas made a left turn. Literally.  
"I can't believe you've never had a crepe!" Lucas exclaimed.  
"I apologize for not having a very thin pancake," I said, eyebrow raised.  
"Well, we're going to go get some now!"  
"I really don't want to. I just got out of practice and I smell rank!"  
Lucas just shook his head. "You shouldn't care, dude. We're there to eat food and hang out."  
"But I smell!" I whined.  
Lucas rolled his eyes. "So we'll eat outside."  
"But I feel dirty!"  
"Boo! Freaking! HOO!" Lucas bellowed, pulling into some trendy french restaurant. "This place has the best crepes ever."  
It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Ok. So you say!"  
"I do," Lucas said, quickly parking his car. We got out and Lucas actually opened the door for me. Such a gentle man I thought.  
The lady being the front counter plastered on one of the those forced smiles you get in customer service. "Hi, I'm Peggy! Where would you two like to sit?"  
"Outside," Lucas said immediately.  
"OK!" Peggy said, her smile getting even wider. Peggy lead us through the restaurant and out the side door where Lucas and I would find ourselves completely alone.  
As we sat down, I laughed under my breath.  
"What?" Lucas asked.  
"Peggy has that customer service smile."  
"The what?"  
"A lot of jobs make you smile when you see a customer because it makes them feel welcomed." I picked up the menu and started flipping through it. "You can't always show a real smile so... you gotta fake it sometimes. So you do what me and my co-workers dubbed 'the customer service smile.'"  
"You fake smiles?"  
"A lot," I said as I dropped the menu and instead flipped through their drinks.  
"Do you at least try to give real ones?"  
I gave him a look. "Of course I do! But you know, sometimes I'm tired, or distracted, so it's best to put on a fake one."  
"Well... you should try to give real smiles more often."  
I paused. I looked at Lucas for a moment. I wondered where this would go. I opened my mouth to speak when Peggy inturrupted us. "Here are a couple waters. Are you guys ready to order?"  
"Two strawberry crepe plates, please," Lucas said.  
Peggy scrawled our orders onto her notepad. "And anything to drink?"  
I could go for a couple shots of tequila is what I wanted to say. Instead, "Root beer, please."  
"And a sprite for me," Lucas said.  
"OK, coming right up!" Peggy took our menus and I took a sip of my water.  
"So like I said, you should give real smiles more often," Lucas said.  
"Why do you think that?" I asked, taking another sip of my water.  
"Because you have a nice smile."  
I nearly choked on my water. I pounded my own chest a couple times.  
"You ok?" Lucas asked.  
"Yeah," I croaked and then cleared my throat. "What about my smile?"  
Lucas shrugged. "It's infectious," was all he said. "I mean seriously, we've had how many classes together? And how many speeches? And every single one of them, you managed to make everyone laugh and giggle and feel relaxed. I'm sure the customers at Sprouts feel welcomed when they talked to you."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
That was quite possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me. Other than the fact that he made my smile sound like a disease, of course. But it was a disease that caused happiness so is it really all that bad? Oh crap I didn't say anything back yet!  
"Thanks," I smiled. He grinned easy back at me. "I'll try to give more genuine smiles at work."  
"Here's your order!" Peggy said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Does she do this on purpose or is her timing really that bad? I thought briefly. She set down out plates which held these really thin pancake like things that I knew wouldn't fill me up. Next to those she put a side of cut up strawberries and our drinks. "Will that be all?"  
I glanced at Lucas. He was the expert on all this, not me. He shook his head and thanked the woman, banishing her fake smile from our presence. After a moment of silence I said, "So how are we supposed to work these."  
"Well..." Lucas reached over to grab his side of strawberries. He laid them down to carefully onto his thin pancake and began to wrap it in an expert manner. "You try," he said. I shrugged and reached for my strawberries. I did exactly as Lucas did, carefully placing the strawberries out over the thin pancake that would never actually fill my stomach. I did that all near perfectly and wrapped it nicely.  
"Now what?"  
"Now," Lucas said, handing me a knife and fork, "we eat!"  
We sat there for another hour or so eating our crepes. We talked about nothing in particular but we were laughing and carrying on. It honestly was a good way to spend a Wednesday. I kept checking my phone whenever Lucas wasn't looking though. I didn't like the fact that I was so far away from Matt and I didn't like the fact that Matt is going through personal problems on top of secretly being hunted by a wolf straight out of Storybrooke.  
But I did like Lucas. I liked him a lot. I liked his tan skin, his tone leg muscles, his... other assets (what's he going to do with all that junk? all that junk inside that trunk?). He had a wonderful smile and he was the nicest person in the world. I doubt he would even hurt a fly. And he's innocent too! I didn't even know he could swear until he said "fuck" a few months ago. And when I heard him say that I was expecting the world to end right then and there.  
When we were done eating, I paid for everything. It only cost about thirty dollars and I was getting paid over the weekend, so no biggie. On the ride to my place, Lucas let me control the radio, so of course I turned it to the blackest, ghettoest station I could think of off the top of my head and of course Niggas In Paris was just about to end.  
It got to my favorite part and the voice of these two dude interrupted the song.  
"I don't even know what that means!"  
"No one does, but it's provocative!"  
"No it's not! It's gross!  
"It gets the people going!"  
"Ball so hard mother fuckas try to fine me!"  
"So is that actually apart of the song?" Lucas asked.  
"Yeah!" I said. I checked the time before switching the station again. I carefully turned the dial to hear what I was looking for. That's when I found it. The Underground station was starting it's Tech N9ne hour.. Tech N9ne was a underground hardocre rapper that was just pure amazing. His beats were old school, his words had meaning, and he was funny as hell too! And just my luck, the person who ran this illegal station was playing The Beast. Matt's favorite song out of all the Tech N9ne awesomeness. The beat was simple but rocked any car with good bass. Stomp-clap, stomp-stomp-clap. Matt loved this song and pretty much any other music I've introduced him to. He's a stereotypical white kid who doesn't really listen to rap and hip hop unless it's the main stream stuff that's on the Billboard Top 100- or should I say didn't. At least he did after I came into his life.  
"Hands down we rock harder than Kiss," the radio said. "But rap me Kutt and Krizz.  
Can I get two stomps and a clap in this bitch!" I stomped twice and clapped along to the song and laughed as Lucas pulled into my apartment complex's street. As he started to pull to a stop, Matt and I's second favorite part of the song started. I sung along in the same creepy voice Tech N9ne used. I bugged my eyes out and leaned in toward Lucas. "Take my money and I will destroy you.  
I am the beast!"  
Lucas leaned back a little, his eyes wide. "Holy crap that's scary!"  
I grinned lightly at Lucas. "That'd be the point, son!" I bellowed over the last repeating choruses of Tech N9ne.  
That's when the radio Dj, only known as the Technician, came over the air. "Hey all you Underground listeners out there! From rap, hip hop, R&B, and all things jazz, this is the Technician coming at you live during the Tech N9ne hour. This is just a reminder that this Friday there will be a open mic night for some of the best singers and rappers in the area. Come support some of my main peeps like Yessir, Migrant, and my brother from another mother, Big Red-"  
Lucas looked at the radio with wide eyes. "Is that you?" he asked.  
I bounced an eyebrow at him. "Totally. I know people." I hesitated for a moment before saying, "Do you want to come see me perform?"  
"Hell yeah!" Lucas said. "Oh wait... I have a project I have to work on. It'll take me all night."  
I did my best to hide my sadness. I probably should've known he couldn't make it. Lucas the Wise only had so much time where he wasn't constantly doing homework or soccer or conditioning or any of the other thousands of things he does. "It's ok. I understand." I did my best to give him a real smile. "No I stink to high heaven, so if you don't mind I'm going to get my stuff out of your trunk and shower some of this rankness of of me."  
Lucas laughed. "Alright, dude," he said, popping the trunk. "I'll see you around."  
"Yes you will," I said getting out of the car. As soon as I turned my back on Lucas, my smile disappeared. It wasn't the fact that he wasn't going to be there that got me so upset. It was the fact that no one was going to be there. I'm about to get on stage and perform in front of a couple hundred strangers and not a single person I knew would be there.  
Especially not the person I just fell head over heels for...


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16  
Thursday night I was pretty much done with everyone. Robin had been running her mouth and making black and gay jokes about me all morning and halfway through lunch. That freaking pissed me off to no end. Then this asshole in my history class was interrupting me during my group speech. It took all my willpower not to pound him into the dirt right then and there. I did, however, have to freeze the room when I accidently threw a knife at him. Luckily he was far enough away that I froze everything, plucked it out of the air, and returned to my spot to unfreeze the room.  
By the end of Thursday's run, I was ready to hop out of Matt's Rav-4 when he dropped me off. We said our usual good byes and such and I ran upstairs. Let's see: easily annoyed? Check. Violent outburst? Check. Look in the mirror and see your eyes have an almost iridescent glow? Check. My powers were acting up again.  
I guess it's time to tell you, I'm a soldier of spirit. Spirit, also known as quintessence is an ancient and rare power to have. Spirit users connect with the life energy that surrounds every living thing. We can tune into people's emotions and even feel them if that person is close to us. It's a very mental ability so it's used mostly outside of combat, but therein lies the problem.  
Every ability has a drawback. Eric gets tired and moody when he warps too much. Jenna and Jackie could overheat and die of a fever if they use fire too much. For me, I can go crazy. Literally. All that emotion that people feel can stick to me and make my own emotions go a little crazy. So on a day like this when I've been around a lot of moody teenagers and been wrestling with my own emotions for Lucas, my mental stability is almost nonexistent. I needed backup and I needed it now.  
It was time to call the only other soldier of spirit I knew. "Damien!" I shouted


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17  
I felt him just as he popped in beside my in my small living room.  
"Hey," he said, pulling me into a hug.  
"Hi!" I breathed in his sent. It's been awhile since I've seen him. I released the hug and took a step back to get a good look at him. He was dressed in a green shirt with a fleur-de-lis on it as opposed to my purple one. He showed off his legs wonderfully in his black cargo shorts. His brown latino skin was darker than usual but on him it looked great.  
"Thank you," he said, smiling.  
"I hate it when you read my emotions like that," I said, playfully glaring into his deep green eyes.  
"Sorry, mi amore," he said, inclining his head in apology. "Now why'd you call?"  
"I'm having one of my days."  
At this, Damien frowned. "Have you been exercising spirit?"  
I shrugged. "I've been reading people's emotions more and helping my friends through hard times. Been putting fire in my fellow cross country runner's bellies. Stuff like that."  
Damien shook his head as he tsked. "You need to exercise the physical power of spirit!" He said. "Can you even shimmer yet?" I raised an eyebrow at him. He glared at me in disbelief before his skin started to turn green. a noticeable aura had appeared around him and then he was gone. A second later he was behind me saying, "That is shimmer! You lock on a person or place you have a strong spiritual connection with and boom you're there!"  
I turned to him. "Is it really that easy?"  
Damien shrugged. "Never know until you try. Now close your eyes." I did what I was told. "Now focus on someone or something. Someone who you're close to now. Someone you hang out with a lot. Maybe even a crush?"  
I breathed deeply and focused. I tried to think of someone like that. I did my best but I came up with nothing. Maybe I'm overthinking this I thought. Think of a happy memory. A concrete memory didn't form in my head but a song did. Stomp-clap stomp-stomp-clap. I smiled as the bassline of the Beast popped in my head. "What do I do once I get a good memory?"  
"Follow it," Damien said. "Follow it. Get a lock on it and let spirit take you there."  
I took a deep breath and focused on the song in my head. I followed that song and I could feel myself getting lighter. I felt myself being to move and I knew where I was going. Shimmering felt amazing, it felt at peace. Then suddenly everything changed. It felt like some crazy driver had just made a hard left. When that sensation stopped I opened my eyes and wanted to shimmer back home immediately but I wasn't sure how.  
I was standing right behind Lucas Mathers


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18  
Thankfully he was wearing a pair of earphones. And other than a pair of cargo shorts, that was all he was wearing.. I can hear the music pounding from where I was standing. He was sitting in front of a window, hunched over his desk, working on homework no doubt. In the window's reflection, I could see his face contorted in concentration. I could also see his bare chest and I almost blushed.  
I needed to get out now but I couldn't focus. I couldn't close my eyes and just breath, what if he turned around or if someone came in or-  
Then I felt Damien shimmer in next to me. He grabbed me around the bicep and I felt the same magical feeling I did when I got here on my own. When I appeared in my own front room, I collapsed on the coach in complete embarrassment.  
"Why did I shimmer to Lucas of all people?" I yelled into my hands.  
"What did you focus on again?"  
"A song!" I yelled at Damien, looking him in the eyes. "That's all. I focused on the Beast by Tech N9ne. That's usually a song I associate with..."  
Damien's eyes narrowed at me. "What?"  
I looked away and focused my thoughts. "Nothing..."  
Damien sighed. "Fine... I guess I'll leave you. Good luck with mastering shimmering."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
Friday was uneventful. I got picked up by Matt as usual (except Tina was sick, thank God) and he was still kind of down but he looked better than he has all week. We chatted back and forth and the subject of my set tonight came up.  
I doubted his mom would let him go, but I gave Matt the address and tentative time I was going on. When i got to school, Evan of all people walked up to me. "Hey," I said smiling.  
"Hey," he said. "Have you heard anything from Jackie lately?"  
I blinked. "Oh yea! She's on a trip right now, cell service is spotty. She barely got a call through to me telling me she's ok." I thought for a moment. "She'll be back just after the Marine Corps ball."  
Evan nodded thoughtfully and then frowned. "You're going to that with my brother, right?"  
I shrugged. "Not with him but yeah, he's tagging along."  
Evan laughed like he knew something I didn't. "Well good luck grinding with him! He's horribly stiff!" He clapped me on the back and shuffled off somewhere.  
When I got home and showered all the stank off my body, I picked out what I was going to wear. Black jeans, red chuck taylors, purple and white checkered short-sleeved collared shirt with big black buttons and a white T-Shirt underneath. I loaded myself up with knives just in case and of course, I grabbed a red beanie cap.  
I didn't want to bus, didn't feel like getting dropped off, didn't feel like all of it. So you know what I did do? I waited until I knew the party was raging and shimmered. Directly into the middle of the party. Wreckless? Yea a little bit but pretty much everyone there was drunk off their ass or higher than Snoop Lion. I walked through the party and high-fived and danced with a few friends, boys and girls alike.  
I was a nervous bundle of spirit when it was time for me to make my way backstage for my turn. A stage hand gave me a plug-in acoustic guitar. With nothing better to do I strummed it to make sure it was in tune and just waited.  
"Please welcome... Big Red!" I heard the Technician over the intercome. Before I went on, I checked my phone. I knew a lot of people send m text right before I go on since they can't come in person. A few people told me they'd be listening either online or on the radio. Suddenly I got a text from Matt. Good Luck, I can't wait to see you!  
See me?  
im here!  
"Big red, you coming?" I didn't have time to worry about Matt being here. He was a big boy, even if he was just a junior. He could handle himself. I walked on stage, shooting everyone a big smile. The spotlight was mine and the crowd was glad to give it to me.  
I scanned the crowd, seeing a lot of familiar faces. Then I saw the face I wanted. Matt was hanging near the back. He was smiling. I pointed right at him and nodded. He smiled even bigger and yelled out my name, my real one. At least I think he did, I can't read lips that well.  
I got to the middle of the stage and adjusted the mike for my tall self. When I was done adjusting, I plugged in the guitar and gave a hard stum. I knew what song I was going to do. Crawling by Linkin Park. It was a kind of slow but it was a good song. It was about being lonely. About being by oneself. I took more of an R&B groove to it. Everyone started swaying to the song easily.  
The more I got into the song the more I began to think about how it seems everyone I loved is gone or leaving. the only reason I had the 4Runner? My older cousin died a couple years ago and left it to me in his will. Where's my mom? Off fighting some evil on the other side of the world. Cousins? Either lucky enough to have a normal life, fighting for others to have a normal life, or dead because they did their best to make sure others could have a normal life. Friends? Didn't have many outside my soldier friends. All the people I go around hugging and high-fiving weren't my true friends. They were just faces that fade in and out of my dangerous life. Except one face.  
Matt. He was here. How he managed to do that is beyond me, but there he was, sitting at the bar, cheering me on. He was a constant in my life, one of the few I had.  
How long will he last?  
I finished my set the same way Linkin Park did in their recording, an abrupt stop after the chorus. I heard the crowd cheer and chant "Big Red" over and over. But I wanted to hear my real name for a change.  
I rushed off stage, giving the guitar back to a random stage hand. I pushed my way through the crowd of people, heading toward where I last saw Matt. I finally found him and pulled him into a hug. "How'd you get here?" I shouted over the music.  
"My mom thinks I' at a party with you!" he shouted back, smiling like this was the first time he did something bad... which it probably was.  
I was about to say something else when I familiar hand tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around and saw none other than Robin. Before I had a chance to question her, she said, "Strigoi!"

_Quick A/n we won't be hearing much of Robin anymore. I based her off a friend of mine and she recently pissed me off so I got sick of writing Robin. So if you're curious or like her, well, fuck her :P_


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20  
I dragged Matt out the side door to the abandoned building the concert was being held at. When we were finally outside, a chill ran up my spin. Three Strigoi (evil vampires) were standing outside. Two rather tall, the other really small. All three of them were dressed in sexual ambigious ways. I couldn't tell whether they were boys or girls. They all wore a silver orchid necklaces. I recognized it from somewhere... I couldn't be sure though.  
"Matt," I said. "Get to your car and lock the doors. I'll be there in a second. Go!" Matt didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted to where the parking lot was and that left Robin and I to talk to the Strigoi in peace. "What do you want?"  
The middle Strigoi pointed to where Matt had run and said, "Him."  
"Why?" Robin asked.  
"He's been marked."  
"By who?" I asked."  
The Strigoi on the left actually smiled. "A friend of yours by the smell of it!"  
"What?" I hissed.  
"You've spoken too much!" The middle Strigoi hissed to his... her comrade. Its comrade. God they were so deceptive. "Let's just kill them and go kill our mark."  
That comment gave him an atheme to the face. Thank god I packed one of those. Athemes are ceremonial knives, kind of a holy object so evil vamps like the Strigoi were helpless against it. Too bad I only had one. The Strigoi would be incapacitated as long as my atheme was lodged in its face but I lost my minor advantage. These dudes are powerful. The only thing that could kill them were holy items, fire, decapitation, a shot to the heart, and sunlight.  
I pulled out two wicked greek style hunting knives and held them backhand. Robin pulled out two gauntlets that reminded me of wings (go figure). Let the fight begin!


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21  
Decapitating someone is easy when they think they're all that and a bag of chips. When I sliced off the head of my Strigoi, I got my atheme and stabbed the already faceless Strigoi in the heart. Then I came up behind the one that was fighting with Robin and stabbed it in the base of the spine, Robin handled the rest.  
She and I carefully dragged the bodies away. Strigoi didn't disappear like demons. We decided to hid them somewhere the sun would easily get to them to get rid of the evidence but where no one else would see. All the while Robin ranted to me about her perfect date to the Marine Corps. ball. She went on and on about him until I finally got sick of it.  
"I got a date too," I said. Ok I know it was a half lie, but it was technically a date.  
"With who?" Robin asked in complete shock.  
"Lucas."  
"Mathers?"  
"Yes."  
"You asked him on a date and he said yes?"  
I shook my head. "He asked to go. Look, can we not talk about this." I said, throwing two of the strigoi body away.  
"No, we need to talk about this now! Look, I know you Like Lucas, but he doesn't like you like that. This isn't a real date!"  
Ok that pissed me off. Without even knowing all the details, Robin thought she knew everything. She didn't know about the crepes or anything.  
"I'm not going to do that," I said.  
"No, you're going to do it first thing tomorrow!"  
"No I am not! You don't know everything, Robin! Just leave well enough alone!" I threw my hands up in frustration. And that's when the Strigoi exploded.  
Robin looked at where they had once been with a jaw. "Did you do that?" she shrieked.  
I just frowned at the scorch marks for a short while before turning on my heel and marching away.  
"We need to talk about this!" Robin yelled, grabbing me by the bicep. I flexed my muscles and a nearby trash can exploded.  
"Leave me alone," I growled, shimmering to Matt's car, just in his blind spot. I went over and knocked on the passenger side window. Matt practically jumped through the sunroof. When he calmed down, he unlocked the door for me. i slid inside.  
"What happened?" he asked.  
"Long story, I'll tell you when you're older." I smiled at him. "Let's get going, ok?" As Matt drove away, I checked my phone. Three missed calls from Robin already. I did not want to deal with that at the moment. I skipped passed those missed calls and noticed a text from Lucas. I heard you on the radio. GREAT JOB!  
And it was then that I thought Robin was wrong.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22  
Matt finally came back home around ten o'clock. Eric had been worried but figured the kid would be back soon enough, so he just stayed perched where he was. And sure as shit, there was the guy, riding back home...  
With a tail of the four legged kind.  
Eric was about to warp down when he noticed a second wolf shimmer in a protective stance between Matt and the first wolf. Eric took a closer look. The wolf that was protecting Matt had green eyes and the other had bright purple. but that didn't make since.  
Matt had long since made into the house, completely oblivious to the fact that there were two wolves just outside his home. The two wolves faced off with each other. The growled and rolled on the ground, biting and scratching at each other. Matt didn't know what to do until eventually the green eyed wolf got the upper hand. The purple eyed wolf disappeared. Completely. Like out of existence. It didn't look like a normal form of teleportation. What had Eric just seen?  
The green eyed wolf stalked toward Matt's house. That time Eric did warp down but the wolf was quick. The wolf had Eric pinned in less than a second.  
"Matt needs to die!" it growled. "By my hands! Or else!"  
"Or else what?" Eric spat, trying to warp but he couldn't  
"Or else Red will be lost forever!" The wolf growled. "Now sleep!"  
Eric woke up with a start, back in his perched spot. He looked over to the Cleric's home and noticed that Matt had finally come home. Eric didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so he went back to playing pokemon on his iPhone for the night, glad he would have tomorrow off.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23  
This cannot be good I kept thinking as I rode with Matt to Holder's Country Inn. All night I had been blowing things up with a simple wave of my hand. Things had gotten so complicated and obviously it was taking a toll on my powers. Part of the stress was over keeping Matt safe and being there for that. So that's why I agreed to go out this morning, even though I'm a risk. He needed me, that's why he invited me because he finally wanted to talk. We got out and headed inside. There weren't many people inside so we were seated almost immediately. We ordered the same thing and when the waiter left, I waited on Matt.  
He was staring at him water like he was lost in thought. Finally he spoke. "A couple weeks ago, Nina and I went out to Panda Express on a date. We spent the day together and it was nice I guess. We got close to the end of the date and I drove her home. As we said our goodbyes, she leaned in and kissed me. I thought I would love it but I didn't. I just thought about Sam."  
When he didn't say anything more, I asked the obvious question. "Who's this Sam person? What's she got to with all this?"  
Matt swallowed. "He has everything to do with this."  
I did my best to keep my face neutral. I had an idea of where this was going but he needed to talk this out so I remained silent.  
"He was... the first person I ever kissed back in elementary school. I didn't think it meant anything until now." Matt looked at me with his unusually blue eyes. "I think... I think I might be gay."  
Finally i broke. I smiled and took his hand. "Is that all?" I said before I laughed. "It's not big deal. It's ok to be gay." I paused. "I am." I shrugged and squeezed Matt's hand before letting it go.  
Matt's eyes bugged out for a second. "I knew it!"  
I laughed again and leaned back in my seat. "See? No big deal. A lot of people in my grade know and I'm ok. And believe me, your friends don't care. And if they do, fuck'em!"  
Matt looked away. "I don't think I'm ready to come out just yet..."  
I shrugged. "Understandable." Our food came. I changed the subject from sexuality to other stuff. School and what not. When that topic got dry and we finished eating, I asked Matt, "What are you doing today?"  
He shrugged.  
"Hanging out with me!" I said, careful not to move my arms too erratically.


	24. ch sorry messed up numbering

What to do with your friend when you find out he's gay? Shopping spree, duh! We rode down to Hot Topic and I paid for him and entirely new outfit. I decked him out in a pair of green High Tops, black cargo pants, an Adventure Time T-shirt under a purple-and-black striped button down, and to top it all off, a rainbow bracelet. I also bought myself a couple new red hats, because I can never get enough of those. Matt saw one that he liked, this blood red one with black skulls going around the brim. I let him have it and he wore it out of the store. We walked through the mall with our purchasing, laughing and giggling like crazy. This was the most fun I've had in a long time. We went to cinnabon and that's when Matt asked an annoying question.  
"How come you never told me you were gay?"  
I shrugged. "Was it important?" Matt shook his head. "Then that's why. If you asked, I wouldn't have denied it. I'm proud of who I am."  
Matt shrugged, taking that as an acceptable answer. We loaded up his car with our purchases and jogged across the street to catch a movie. Without the worry of blowing something up, I went to sleep pretty quickly. When I woke up, I found myself leaning against Matt.  
"Hey," he whispered. Giant smile plastered across his face, hazel eyes shining in the dark,  
"Hey," I whispered up.  
"You missed most of the movie."  
"Sorry." I didn't feel like moving so I asked, "Can I stay like this?"  
Matt nodded and I felt him adjust to get comfortable in his seat. The movie ended with one of those romantic kissed where everything else is freeze framed and you see the main characters friends all cheering for them as some old song from when my grandma... my mom was my age. it was quite a scene.  
When that was all said and done, I needed to go to school.  
"Really?" jason said. "School? For homework? On a sunday night?"  
"Senioritas, shuttup," was all I said as I played with his sound system. Then I thought about it for a second. "We don't have school tomorrow. So I'm good! Still going to do it tonight." If finally got the the Tech N9ne mixtape I made for him and we rocked out on the way there. He pulled into the student parking lot and let me out. "Be right back," I promised. I sprinted through the halls and got a binder out of my locker. As I took a slow jog, i heard a familiar voice.  
"He's so putty in my hands!" It was Lucas. He was here? I hid around a corner to listen on. Stalker status? A little. But I didn't want to interrupt.  
"I don't know. I still think he's going to catch on or something." With Evan evidently..  
"No even! You know he has a giant crush on me. You saw him fall against me in the movie."  
"So when you going to try to get that kiss?"  
"At the Marine Corps. Ball. That's all the time I need and I'll win the bet."  
"A bet?" I roared. I flew around the corner and was in Lucas' face in a second. "You've been nice to me all this time for a goddamned bet! What the fuck, you stupid jackass?" Tears threatened to spill over my eyes.  
Lucas was in utter shock. He didn't know what to say. Evan took a step back, not wanted to be near me when I exploded, which at this point was quite possible.  
"Answer me!" I screamed, my voice cracking a bit.  
"Yes..." Lucas finally said.  
"So all of it? All the niceness I've been getting from you was all for a stupid kiss?" I didn't even wait for an answer. I turned on my heel and walked away. I didn't trust myself to speak to him any more.  
"Wait!" Lucas called, running up behind me.  
I wanted to get rid of him. That's why I did what I did next. (PAUSE: What'd you think I did? A) punch him B) kick him C) explode him or D) freeze him and walk way?). I turned around and grabbed him around the collar of his shirt. "You want a fucking kiss?" I asked. I pulled him in and pressed my lips against his.  
It was a bitter sweet kiss too. After Seventeen years, I finally get my first kiss and I wasted it on this jackass. If I was going to waste it, I might as well enjoy it. I parted my lips and began to suck on his lower lip. He went stiff and rigid. At this point I was just sick of him. I broke the kiss and threw him as hard as I could. He ended up flying back about two yards and landed hard on his back. Again I turned on my heels and tried to just walk away before a minor explosion turned into a major headache.  
I only got a couple of steps before Lucas was on his feet coming at me.  
As he tried to talk, I flicked my wrist at him, trying to freeze him. Lucky I didn't blow him up. Unlucky, he said, "Yeah, that doesn't work on me."  
I stood there, mouth open wide. "But I bet this does!" I flicked my wrist at him again but this time I blasted him away from me. He landed against a close wall and fell over in a heap, completely knocked out.  
I turned to Evan. Whatever was going on, he knew too. he turned and tried to run away, but I flicked my wrist at him and he was sent sprawling too.  
"Eric!" I called. "Bring everyone!"  
Eric popped in, holding Jenna and Jackie's hands a couple minutes later. "What happened?" he asekd. Then his eyes fell on the Mathers twins who were knocked out.  
"Tied them up," I said. "I blasted them because they didn't freeze."  
Eric nodded and began to do as instructed.  
"Are they... evil?" Jackie asked.  
I turned to her and pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry, I don't think they are. I would've sensed it a while ago. I don't know what's going on but we'll figure it out." I released her and smiled. "I have to go send Matt home. Meet me at home."  
Jackie and Jenna both nodded. Eric grunted in approval.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 23  
This cannot be good I kept thinking as I rode with Matt to Holder's Country Inn. All night I had been blowing things up with a simple wave of my hand. Things had gotten so complicated and obviously it was taking a toll on my powers. Part of the stress was over keeping Matt safe and being there for that. So that's why I agreed to go out this morning, even though I'm a risk. He needed me, that's why he invited me because he finally wanted to talk. We got out and headed inside. There weren't many people inside so we were seated almost immediately. We ordered the same thing and when the waiter left, I waited on Matt.  
He was staring at him water like he was lost in thought. Finally he spoke. "A couple weeks ago, Nina and I went out to Panda Express on a date. We spent the day together and it was nice I guess. We got close to the end of the date and I drove her home. As we said our goodbyes, she leaned in and kissed me. I thought I would love it but I didn't. I just thought about Sam."  
When he didn't say anything more, I asked the obvious question. "Who's this Sam person? What's she got to with all this?"  
Matt swallowed. "He has everything to do with this."  
I did my best to keep my face neutral. I had an idea of where this was going but he needed to talk this out so I remained silent.  
"He was... the first person I ever kissed back in elementary school. I didn't think it meant anything until now." Matt looked at me with his unusually blue eyes. "I think... I think I might be gay."  
Finally i broke. I smiled and took his hand. "Is that all?" I said before I laughed. "It's not big deal. It's ok to be gay." I paused. "I am." I shrugged and squeezed Matt's hand before letting it go.  
Matt's eyes bugged out for a second. "I knew it!"  
I laughed again and leaned back in my seat. "See? No big deal. A lot of people in my grade know and I'm ok. And believe me, your friends don't care. And if they do, fuck'em!"  
Matt looked away. "I don't think I'm ready to come out just yet..."  
I shrugged. "Understandable." Our food came. I changed the subject from sexuality to other stuff. School and what not. When that topic got dry and we finished eating, I asked Matt, "What are you doing today?"  
He shrugged.  
"Hanging out with me!" I said, careful not to move my arms too erratically.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25  
I tapped on Matt's driver side window. "Get out," I said.  
I took a step back to let him open his door. "You ok?" he asked immediately. I pulled him into a huge hug and just let myself enjoy. After dealing with Lucas, I needed this. I released him from the hug and just looked at him.  
"No I'm not. Gay or straight, heartbreak hurts," I said. "But I will be ok. You know... eventually."  
"Ok," Matt said. "You want to come over my house? Tina is having all her annoying friends over and I don't want to be stuck there by myself for the night."  
"Sleep over?"  
"Yea... if that's ok with your mom."  
"She won't care. I'll be there. But I got stuff to wrap up here, so go home and I'll be there in a bit."  
Matt nodded once and hopped in his Rav-4. Once he was out of sight, I shimmered into my living room. Lucas and Evan were at my feet, in chains. Oh the number of times of thought of this scenario in the middle of the night...  
"What have you found out?" I asked Eric.  
"They soldiers. Good ones I guess. I checked their blood and they're clean."  
I nodded and crouched down to the twins' level. "Who was the bet with?" I asked Lucas.  
"A friend of mine."  
"Who?"  
"Umm..." He got the weirdest look on his face. I've seen it before.  
"His memories have been tampered with." I declared. "I'm guessing so has the other one."  
"So what do we do now?" Jenna asked.  
"We connect the dots. But first, Eric untie them and get them some food. I walked over to my couch and sat down hard. The twins were able to stand and to the other couch opposite Jackie, Jenna, and I. I couldn't bare to look at them right then. When Eric brought them a small snack, I began. "First a wolf attacks Matt. It keeps attacking Matt. We've established this... Then Robin and I fang blocked a trio of Strigoi that were ambiguously dressed and sporting a silver orchid, the flower of deception. Now we have two soldiers who have known about us for a long time."  
"How'd you know we've known for a while?" Evan blurted out.  
"You ran," I said. "You'd only do that if you truly knew my reputation. PLus Lucas said my power wouldn't work. Don't even try to deny it." I took a deep breath. "Anyway... what should we do?"  
Jenna turned to the twins. "So what can you two do...?"


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26  
We grilled the twins on who there were for a long time. We discovered that they came into their powers a month or so ago and their parents were training them. They were both speedsters. They could run really fast but need calories to do it. They also had electrokinesis that got stronger when there were together (dubbing them Plusle and Minun by Eric). I began to relax around them again, but couldn't look Lucas in the eye. My phone suddenly buzzed in my pocket. it was a text from Matt. Help was all it said.  
Tina's friends? I responded.  
Yes. Help. please.  
On my way. "OK, I got to get going!"  
Jenna scrunched up her face. "Just like that? You don't want to learn more."  
"We learned as much as we can about the wolf. That's all I care about. Protecting Matt. Now seriously, I have to go." WIthout another word or after thought, I shimmered to the Cleric's home. I focused on the backyard and ended up in a nice little blind spot. The back door was unlocked, like I thought so i just slipped in unnoticed. Matt's back was to me, so I had to let him have it. I came up behind him and wraped my arm around his neck while saying "I am the BEAST!"  
"Holy shit!" Matt screamed. I released him and he turned toward me. "Of course it was you, Peyton."  
"Of course," I said.  
"Hi, Peyton!" Mrs. Cleric called.  
"How's it going?" I called back.  
"Come on," Matt said, "let's hang out in my room."  
Over the next few hours, Matt and I played video games, listened to music, and fended off Tina and her friends as they repeatedly tried to come in and bug us. It wasn't until ten o'clock at night, when Tina and her back of wild sophomores had rolled out their sleeping bags and crashed; when we were sitting side by side on Matt's bed, that he asked a question that was burning on his lips. "So how did your heartbreak?"  
I filled him on on everything from sophomore year when I started crushing on Lucas to walking in on hearing about the bet. I omitted the magic parts and said that it was Evan who put Lucas up to the bet. "And that's how I got my very first kiss."  
"I thought you said you made it to third base before?"  
"There doesn't have to be kissing involved with that."  
"So have you ever... I mean, did you ever like..."  
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Did I ever like you?" I suggested.  
He nodded. We stared at each other deep in the eyes. I never knew how beautifully hazel his eyes were. I mean, I noticed but now they shone. Before I could loose my nerve, I put my fingers on his chin, tilted his head back, and pressed my lips against his.


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27  
I woke up long before Matt, or anyone else did. I slowly shook Matt awake. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and lead me to his parent's room. He lightly knocked on the door.  
"Who is it?" Mr. Cleric called almost immediately.  
"It's me," Matt said. "I need to talk to you."  
"Come on in."  
"Peyton's coming too."  
There was a pause. I heard some whispering before Mrs. Cleric called, "Come on in."  
Matt opened the door. His parents were sitting side by side on the edge of the bed. "Have a seat," Mr. Cleric said, gesturing to the couch opposite to them. My heart was thudding in my chest so hard it could fly out at any moment. I sat next to Matt and waited for him to start.  
"Mom," he said quietly, "Dad. I don't know how to tell you this but... I'm..." he reached over and grabbed my hand. "I'm gay."  
"You owe me twenty bucks!" Mrs. Cleric said to her husband before I instantly busted a gut.

"I'm sorry, Matt," I said between laughs. "But that was freaking hilarious! Your parent bet on your sexuality!" I almost fell over in a fit of laughter. Matt just sat there, smiling wide out of embarrassment and relief.

"We didn't bet on his sexuality," Mrs. Cleric said.  
"We bet on when he'd come out," Mr. Cleric finished, chuckling a little himself. "I said he would wait until he got out of high school."  
I collected myself enough to say, "So you knew the whole time?"  
"Oh yea," Mrs. Cleric said. "It was way too obvious!"  
"Mom!" Matt protested which almost made me fall over again.  
Mrs. Cleric shrugged. "Well it was!"  
"That and we saw you kissing Sam," Mr. Cleric said.  
"Oh this is rich!" I said. Matt tried to glare at me but he was smiling too hard. I gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Sorry, but it is."  
"So are you two together?" Mr. Cleric asked.  
I glanced at Matt. "Yea, we are," Matt answered.  
Mr. Cleric regarded me in a way that made me keep my face neutral and sit up straighter. "I'm not sure how I feel about you dating an older boy, Matt."  
Mrs. Cleric slapped her husband in the chest. "Oh stop it, Red is harmless."  
"And I would never pressure Matt into anything he doesn't want to do," I added. But after what we did last night, I'm happy with doing what he wants to do I thought. Again, we're still just virgins.  
Mr. Cleric nodded at me. "I guess it's ok then."  
"Of course it's ok, Pat," Mrs. Cleric said, as if she couldn't believe her husband. "Just take it slow, boys. It'll hurt."  
I stifled a laugh and hoped Matt wouldn't ask the stupid question.  
"What'll hurt?" Matt asked the dumbest question.  
In a matter-of-fact tone that a history teacher would use in class, Mrs. Cleric said, "Gay sex, dear."  
And with that, I lost all control and laughed so hard, tears came from eyes. I whiped them away as Matt's parents kicked us out of their room. I walked back to Matt's room. I was still dressed in the sweats I wore last night and Matt threw on a pair of jeans and a Giant's T-shirt. As soon as he was dressed, a cold chill ran down my spine.  
"We have to go! Now!"  
"OK," Matt said, reaching for his keys.  
"Not that way," I said grabbing him by the shoulders and shimmering away. We appeared in the middle of a clearing at Fremont Older in a spot no one would ever go to. "Don't freak out!" I instantly commanded.  
"How did you do that?" Matt asked.  
"Magic," I said. "Look, you have to believe me, I'm a good guy. But something is after you."  
Matt looked at me in the eyes. "Ok," he finally said. "I believe you."  
I gave him a hug the turned around. I made sure he was behind me before the wolf materilized in front of me. The wolf lunged at me and I flinched, accidently blasting the wolf in the face. The wolf flew backwards. "Eric!" I called. "Time to play shuffle!"  
Eric warped out of nowhere next to Matt and said, "The twins, Jenna, and Jackie are all playing too!" He warped away, Matt in tow. I turned to the wolf but he was already dematerializing. I had to wait for my cue. Now that I could shimmer, my friends could call me like I called Eric. or Damien. Damien I thought.  
I got a text from Jackie telling me to go to PHS and wait for my turn to start shuffling. With Mine and Eric's abilities to teleport and Jackie and Jenna able to fly, we could ounce Matt around until we figured something to do with Matt.  
I shimmered to PHS and to my surprise, Lucas was standing next to me. "Oh hell no," I said.  
"I'm sorry!" he instantly said.  
"Don't want to hear it," I said. "Damien!" I called.  
"Look I just wanted to say-"  
"Damien!" I called louder. "Damien you rat bastard, get here now!" I put as much bass and spirit in my voice as I could. Every living thing within the sound my voice stiffened for a second. "I said NOW!" In that instant, a green aura sparked to life ahead of me. As Damien stood before me, Lucas said the worse words I could hear.  
"He's the one who put me up to the bet!"


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28  
I instantly shot my hands out and tried to explode Damien. He flew back about ten feet and landed with a thud. He was the wolf. I knew it right then and there. No one else could manipulate people in such a way expect a spirit user. he was smart, he was experienced, and he knew what he was doing. I put a little spirit in my voice and living things stiffen. Imagine a master, what they could do. I knew he did it.  
"Why?" i asked. "That's all I want to know. "Why?"  
"Because I'm saving you from my fate!" He said. "You don't understand! Matt needs to die!"  
"No!" I shrieked. I tried to blast Damien again, but no cigar. He waved his hands and the blast was absorbed. I focused every bit of anger and tried again. All that did was make him anger. He pulled out a wicked hunting knife and I knew I was fucked. I didn't have a single weapon on me.  
"He needs to die. And if that means injuring you, so be it." Quick as lightning, Damien threw his knife right at me. I had no time to move. I could stay still and be incapacitated or try to move and have worse happen.  
I had no time. I couldn't move fast enough. But Lucas could. He stepped in front of my body and took the knife in the back. Lucas let out a grunt of pain and collapsed to the ground.  
"No!" I shreiked louder than I ever had. SO much anger rose up in me at that point. I had nothing else to do but wave my hands at Damien. All my emotions fueled my power and made it so powerful that when Damien went up in smoke, the scorch marks were as far as three feet away. But none of that matter. Lucas was on the ground, dying. I raced over to him and pulled him into my lap.  
"I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you," Lucas said in a weak voice.  
"No, no, no," I said. "It's ok. I forgive you, you're ok. You're always ok, please don't leave me. Please don't leave me. Don't leave me." Lucas slowly started to go limp in my arms. He slowly brought his hand up and motioned me to come closer. I bent my head down low enough to where out faced were next to each other. He brought his head up and slowly brought his lips up to my cheek.  
He was kissing me goodbye.  
I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't just let him go. There had to be something I could do. Suddenly my hands got very hot. hotter than they should have been. I knew this feeling. I put my hands on the spot where the knife had embedded itself. I grabbed it and pulled it out. Lucas lurched in my lap and moaned. "I know, it's almost over." I placed my hands over his wound and to my huge relief, the wound started to close. Lucas slowly started to come back to life. He didn't die!  
He was ok!  
"Am I dead?" he asked.  
"No, shithead!" I said pulling him into a hug. "Don't ever do that again."  
"You're alive for now," Damien said, looking pale as a ghost just before I passed out.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29  
Matt didn't know what was going on. One minute he's kissing his boyfriend, the next he was flying over his high school. When there was a long quiet, a girl named Jackie set him down.  
"I think we're safe," she said, leading Matt down the halls. "We should meet up with Red now." When they rounded a corner, they noticed Lucas and another figure standing over Red's limp body on the ground. "Red!" Jackie called running toward them. She crouched over her fallen comrade and asked what happened.  
"He's turning into a wolf," the ghost like figure said.  
Jackie narrowed her eyes at him. "hey I know you! You're that other spirit user!"  
"Was," he said. "Now I'm just a spirit."  
"He's the wolf," lucas suddenly said.  
Jackie got pissed. Pissed enough to where her hair caught fire. "What?"  
"I haven't been myself in a while. The side effect of spirit is it makes the user a little crazy sometimes. When the user is out of balance, it causes problems. For me, it was schizophrenia and paranoia. But for Red, it's abandonment issues.  
"Months ago, I turned full wolf and used my powers to rip the throats out of my best friend because I thought he stole my car keys. I lost my humanity and started stalking the only other spirit user I knew."  
"Red," Jackie breathed.  
"yes. I noticed he was getting too close to this boy-" Damien gestured to Matt, "and I knew something had to be done. I knew I had to kill this child. Some part of me, some distant part of me knew I couldn't let the great Red fall victim to craziness. That's why I tried to kill the child and why I was slowly hypnotizing Lucas into being the perfect lover for Red. Obviously I failed."  
"So what's happening to Red now?" Lucas asked, upset over the fact that he had been used.  
"He's waging an internal battle with himself. One that, if he loses, he will go full wolf and kill Matt.  
"Can anything break it?" Jackie asked.  
"Knowing he wouldn't be abandoned..." Damien trailed off. "I must be gone. Moving on to the next life."  
Matt let the gears work in his head. he may not know what was going on but he knew what he had to do. He dropped to his knees and put his hand over Peyton's heart. "Peyton, I'm here," he said. "I'm always here. I'm not going anywhere." Then Red slowly brought his lips to Peyton's . It was a deep passionate kiss. When Matt leaned back, he silently prayed it would work.  
And slowly but surely, Peyton's eyes opened. "Hey," he said, giving a weak smile.  
"Hey!" Matt said. Peyton reached up and pulled Matt into another deep kiss.


	31. Epilogue

Epilogue  
Ok so I have abandonment issues. I'll work through them eventually. At least I have a boyfriend to help me out. I was dressed in my fancy blues at the Marine Corps. Ball. I had wanted to bring my cammies, but for Matt... I needed to be fancy. I needed to look my best for the person who pulled me back from the edge.  
Of course Matt looked stunning. He was dressed in the clothes I had bought him the sunday before. Black jeans, purple and black striped shirt, and of course a red fedora. I had explained to him everything. Every bit of my world. I had even shimmered him to Canada so we can go snowboarding during lunch on Wednesday. He wasn't scared, he didn't hate me, and he didn't think I was a freak. He thought I was awesome.  
That's why he was my date to the Marine Corps. ball. I had my arms wrapped around his hips, guiding his movements. "You're so stiff," I whispered into his head.  
"Shut up," he blushed.  
I laughed into his ear. "You know I love you!"  
Matt turned around in my arms and faced me. "Do you?" he asked.  
I smiled as i stared into his beautiful hazel eyes. "Of course I do!"  
Matt smiled wide. "I love you too," he said, bring it in for a kiss.  
All around us, I heard Evan, Eric, Jackie, Jenna, Tien, and RObin whoop for us.  
And that's how this story ends. With one of those romantic kissed where everything else is freeze framed and you see the main characters friends all cheering for them as some old song from when my grandma... my mom was my age. It was quite a scene.


End file.
